Return of a Lost Soul
by Sorceress Knight 826
Summary: In a peaceful Radiant Garden, a new enemy surfaces. Even with Sora and friends coming to their aid, the situation looks grim for the Restoration Committee. With the Radiant Garden in ruins, the Warriors of Light make one final stand. Leon x secret. UPDATE
1. Prologue: Leon's Pain

Summary: In a peaceful Radiant Garden, a new enemy surfaces. Even with Sora and friends coming to their aid, the situation looks grim for the Restoration Committee. With the Radiant Garden in ruins, the Warriors of Light make one final stand. But who is this new enemy? And why does the person alongside the new enemy bring Leon to his knees? Squall L. /Leon x Heh heh (Read to find out XD)

Kingdom Hearts and all related works are copyrighted by Square-Enix. I own nothing.

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Prologue: Leon's Pain

All was well at the Radiant Garden. Peace was restored throughout the world. They finally finished tearing down the castle formerly known as Hollow Bastion, planting an enormous flower garden instead, at Aerith's request. Ansem's computer had been moved to Merlin's house in order to keep the town's security system up and running. Very minimal amounts of Heartless came to fight, and when they did, the security system kicked in, leaving little work for the Restoration Committee. Nobodies were often seen around the Bailey, but the security system managed to handle them until someone arrived.

Cloud had returned, along with Tifa. This sparked a love triangle between the two of them and Aerith. This triangle was the talk of the town, and the catalyst for many rumors. Most of the rumors turned out to be lies, spread by the mischievous ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi. Cid and Merlin often spent the day trying to update the security system, getting it to kill Heartless instead of knocking them in the air. Squall Leonhart, however, tended to go off by himself to train at the Dark Depths.

Of course, he was no longer "Squall Leonhart". After losing this world once to the Heartless, he cast away his name in shame and took up an alias, "Leon". And the Radiant Garden wasn't the only thing he lost. Along with his home, Leon lost the love of his life, the beautiful Rinoa Heartilly. She had her heart stolen during the escape, and Squall Leonhart couldn't protect her. He was supposed to be her "knight", someone who could protect her against all odds. If anyone should've died, it was him. Not her, the beautiful young woman who had a promising future.

Such thoughts often entered his head as Leon trained. The Dark Depths was a nice, quiet place. It reminded him of the Secret Waterway back in Traverse Town. Even there, these thoughts entered his mind. It drove him to become faster and stronger, so that no one would ever have to endure the pain his heart felt every single day.

"Squall!" someone yelled behind him, pulling him from his thoughts. Leon looked to see the spunky ninja bouncing towards him. Leon placed his precious Gunblade on his belt and faced her.

"It's Leon," Leon replied frigidly, correcting Yuffie yet again. "Now, what do you want?" Yuffie looked hurt, but Leon knew it was her fake pout to try to lure him into something.

"I just came to tell you that Sora and his friends decided to visit," Yuffie replied, trying to imitate Leon's frigid voice. "Oh, and King Mickey showed up with Donald and Goofy."

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" Leon replied, turning away from her and drawing his Gunblade. Without waiting for a response, he resumed his training.

"Please come with me, Squall," Yuffie pleaded. "They're your friends, too. They want to see you." When Leon didn't acknowledge her, she pulled a ninja star out of her pocket and launched it directly at his head. Leon sensed this, turned, and swung in a large arc. The star was deflected above him and flew harmlessly over the cliff. Leon glared at her with his icy blue eyes, sending chills down Yuffie's spine. "Okay, I get it! I just don't see why you always have to be such a damn turd!" With those last words, she stormed off, stomping her feet on the ground as she did. Leon sighed.

'This is the way it should be,' he thought. 'I lost my happiness long ago. I have no right to it now. All I can do is make sure that no one else can feel this pain." He began training furiously, using his emotional pain as his drive. Not long after he began training, however, he felt another presence behind him. He turned to find the spike-headed blonde walking towards him.

"The girls sent me to come get you," Cloud said. "They said you need to stop being so antisocial and come see your friends."

"I told them I'm not going," Leon replied, turning away.

"Oh, come on, Leonhart," Cloud argued. "I know why you're here by yourself."

"To train and become stronger so that the people of Radiant Garden don't have to fear the Heartless," Leon stated simply. "And don't call me by that name."

"Look, Leonhart," Cloud said, ignoring Leon's last comment. "I know you're thinking about her, but you still have to remember, you're not the only person who lost someone that day. We all lost family, friends, and everyone else that mattered to us. It was a tragic day, but you need to learn to get over it and move on. We all did, now you have to. If not for everyone else, move on for yourself."

"You make it sound easy," Leon said, finally placing his Gunblade on his belt. He turned and began walking towards Cloud.

"Nothing is that easy," Cloud replied. "But I'm sure Rinoa wouldn't stand for it if she saw you like this. She always did her best to make you smile and get you away from your antisocial self. How do you think she'd feel if she knew all her hard work went to waste?"

At the mere mention of her name, Leon immediately felt depressed. He reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled out the necklace he had been hiding for the past few years, a silver chain with two separate rings hanging from it. He sighed softly before returning it to its hiding place. The both of them then began walking back towards the Marketplace.

"That belonged to her, didn't it?" Cloud asked, breaking the silence. The both of them walked through the Ravine Trail towards the Bailey. Leon didn't answer. Cloud then saw why as a Soldier Heartless appeared in front of the two of them. The both of them waited for the security system to destroy the Heartless, but it never activated. The Soldier took this opportunity to charge at the two warriors. Cloud drew his enormous Buster Sword and lunged at the Heartless, but it leaped above him and performed a Spin Kick, knocking Cloud to the ground of the Bailey. He then watched as the Soldier rushed at Leon. "Leonhart, look alive!"

Leon looked up and saw the lunging Heartless. Instead of drawing his Gunblade and cutting it down, however, he reached out with his left hand and caught the Soldier by the neck. "You can't face me," he said to the struggling Heartless. "You're not good enough!" He threw the creature to the ground, drew the Gunblade, and cut it in two. He then walked over to Cloud and held out a hand.

"The town's security system should've activated," Cloud said, using Leon's hand to get to his feet. "Those two need to stop messing with it. And you! How can you just doze off during a fight! You need to get over it, damn it!"

"Shut up!" Leon growled, placing the Gunblade to his belt. "Let's just get back to see what's wrong! I have a bad feeling about this!" The two of them sprinted towards the Borough, cutting through any Heartless that appeared before them. When they reached the Borough, they were greeted by a horrific sight. Several Crimson Jazz Heartless were hovering above the houses burning them to ash. Several Morning Stars were also exiting Merlin's house. Without thinking, both warriors jumped on top of one of the burning roofs. Cloud rushed towards the Crimson Jazz and cut them all to pieces with his mighty sword. Leon leapt off the roof and cut through one Morning Star as he landed. The remaining three Morning Stars rushed at Leon with their spike-covered bodies, but Leon charged, cutting through one as he did. One Morning Star managed to strike him, knocking the Gunblade wielder to the ground. The other jumped above him and prepared a Body Press. Leon easily countered this by pointing his sword directly at the Heartless, allowing it to become impaled on the Gunblade as it dropped down. The remaining Heartless attempted to crush him with a Body Press of its own, but Cloud arrived at the scene, hacking it in two.

"Let's go," Cloud said, walking over the shattered remains of Merlin's door. Leon stood up and followed through the door way. The inside of the house was in chaos. Everything was either burned, broken, or both. Ansem's computer was broken and in flames. Both Cid and Merlin lay on the ground, unconscious. Cloud walked over to the flaming computer and examined it. Leon knelt down next to the unconscious men. "Well, that explains why the security system didn't activate. I wonder what'll happen to Tron."

"He'll be alright," Cid suddenly said, sitting up. He held up a flash-drive. "We create a weekly back-up file for him. Merlin can just load the most recent data and he'll be good as new."

"What happened here?" Leon asked.

"Some confounded Heartless barged in and started burning up the place," Cid explained. "Merlin was knocked out cold before he could fire off a spell. I was knocked out trying to stop them from them from destroying the computer. These Heartless were on a mission. I'd get going to the Marketplace if I were you. We don't need some stinking incident with Sora and the King here."

"What about the two of you, will you be okay?" Cloud asked. "I think we should wait till Aerith gets here."

"We may be old, but we're stronger than we look," Cid replied. "Now, get going! Sora and the King are in danger!"

With those as parting words, the two sprinted off, racing towards the Marketplace. Several Soldiers stood in their way, but they were quickly disposed of. Leon swung the Gunblade, cutting through two of them. He turned and performed a side-swing, slashing three more. Cloud leapt high into the air, impaling the last one as he landed. Leon ran ahead of Cloud, who was forced to fight another Soldier that had appeared. Leon reached the overhang of the bridge that led to the Marketplace, and it was there where he saw a grim scene.

The battle had already begun.

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So here it is, my first fanfiction. Read & Review please.

And for those wondering, no this isn't a Leon x Cloud. He just happens to be here the first chapter. Seriously, Leon x Cloud is just creepy.


	2. Chapter 1: An Enemy Revealed

Kingdom Hearts and all related works are copyrighted by Square-Enix. I own nothing.

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Chapter 1: An Enemy Revealed

Leon watched as the battle took place. Hundreds of Heartless had gathered in the Marketplace. The Yuffie and Tifa were helping the townspeople escape the skirmish. Aerith was tending to anyone who had received a wound. Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey were all fighting to keep the Heartless away from the escaping citizens. Kairi had her Oathkeeper Keyblade drawn as she helped Yuffie and Tifa. Without waiting for Cloud to join him, Leon jumped into the fray. He leapt into the air, cutting through any airborne Heartless. While in midair, his Gunblade began releasing energy. Leon recognized this immediately and spun rapidly.

"Fated Circle!" he roared. The energy released from the Gunblade suddenly shot out in all directions, obliterating all the Heartless in the area. As he landed, all the warriors in the Marketplace rushed up to him.

"Wow, Leon!" Sora exclaimed, patting him on the back. "I didn't know you could do something like that!"

"Ah, fooey," Donald said. "That's nuthin'."

"Nice to see you again, Leon!" King Mickey said.

"About time," Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie said in unison, the three of them grinning.

Kairi suddenly leapt onto Sora's back. "Did you see me? Did you see me? I was actually fighting!" she squealed, hugging him around the neck.

"Easy there," Riku said, standing next to Sora. "Even Keyblade Masters need to breathe."

"Don't let your guard down so quickly," Leon said frigidly. The group looked to see pools of Darkness forming all around the Marketplace. Soon, Heartless were all around, surrounding them and the other townspeople.

"Oh crud," Yuffie said. She watched as several Armored Knights, Shadows, and Neoshadows blocked the exit to the Marketplace.

"Keyblade Masters, I'm going to need your help. Donald and Goofy too," Leon said quickly. "Yuffie, Tifa, take everyone to Merlin's house and stay put. Don't depend on the security system to help get you there. The Heartless already disabled it. Aerith, tend to anyone who received injuries. And make sure that you tend to Merlin and Cid. They were attacked as well. Oh, and if you see Cloud, tell him to hurry up and get over here."

"Okay," Yuffie said. She stepped towards the entrance to the Borough, causing a Neoshadow to charge at her. She jumped over its head and launched a ninja star directly at the head, piercing its skull. As Yuffie landed, she fired off several stars at once. All of the stars pierced their target. Yuffie then ran forward in the direction of Merlin's house. "All right, everyone! Follow me!"

There was a small flicker of light in front of the exit, and it didn't take long for Sora to realize what it was. "Yuffie, wait!" he tried to yell, but it was too late. Yuffie ran head-first into the newly formed barrier. She bounced back and onto the floor, where a couple of Heartless saw their opportunity and lunged at her. Riku immediately rushed to her aid, while the rest of the warriors surrounded the townspeople and began the second round of the furious battle. Riku viciously hacked away at the Armored Knights as he waited for Yuffie to get to her feet. Tifa, Kairi, Donald and Goofy helped all the people get behind the booths of the stores while Sora and the King rushed to help Riku and Yuffie. Leon alone raced towards the frontline of the Heartless.

'It's happening again,' Leon thought. 'It's just like last time. Heartless are trying to take over the world.' He quickly stabbed a Bookmaster through the face before turning and slashing off the head of a Soldier. 'But I won't let them win this time. I won't lose this time! I can't lose!' With newfound determination, Leon charged forward, striking through several more Heartless. 'This is for Rinoa! I won't let anything happen to her home ever again!' Leon stabbed into the ground, creating a shockwave all around him. That shockwave blasted all the Heartless within a twenty foot radius, obliterating them instantly.

In the meantime, the other warriors had managed to get all the townspeople into the Moogles' shop and locked themselves outside. They then began the defense against the unrelenting Heartless, fighting wave after wave. Yuffie and the Keyblade Masters joined them shortly, trying to ease the burden of the protectors. Aerith stood at the very back, casting healing spells on all the warriors. Tifa and Kairi stood next to the healer, protecting her from any harm. Yuffie stood on the roof, firing her stars at every Heartless in the vicinity. Riku and the King were leaping through the air, knocking down any airborne Crimson Jazzes and Bookmasters. Sora, Donald and Goofy stood directly ahead of the healer, striking down the approaching Heartless.

Sora took a moment to watch Leon as he continued to push the Heartless frontline back. "Leon's going crazy! Look at him way out there!" he called out as he struck a Morning Star down. A beam of light emerged from the Gunblade, molding itself into a blade. Leon used his powered-up Gunblade to slash through dozens of Heartless at once.

"He doesn't want history to repeat itself," Aerith said calmly, casting Cure on Tifa. "As you know we lost the Radiant Garden to the Heartless. But Sq-I mean Leon, lost something more in that battle. He lost the love of his life to the Heartless. That's why he fights so hard against them. He won't ever allow the Radiant Garden to be taken again."

"So that's why he acts so distant?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," Yuffie replied, taking down several Neoshadows with her stars. "For some reason he believes he doesn't deserve to be happy."

Leon hacked his way through several Armored Knights before leaping back. 'Even the Blasting Zone isn't enough. . .' Leon thought. He risked a glance behind him, and he was relieved to see all the warriors were all right. He then charged back to the frontline. 'Everyone's looking weary. I need to end this fast.' He slashed across several Heartless before leaping high into the air.

A fireball shot from a Crimson Jazz blasted Leon out of the air. He fell to the ground, his body smoking. Yuffie shredded the Heartless to bits with her stars, but it was too late. The damage had been done. "No!" Aerith yelled out. She tried to run out to him, but Tifa held her back.

"We can't help him!" she shouted to Aerith. "We have to stay here and protect the townspeople! Leon will get up! Just believe in him. He can do it." AS if on cue, Leon got up to his knees. Yuffie cheered from the rooftop. Instead of rising to his feet, however, Leon continued to rest on his knees. An Armored Knight saw its opportunity and slashed Leon across the face, splitting open Leon's scar. Leon cried out in pain as his blood sprayed all over. He then rose to his feet and slashed right through the Armored Knight. Leon then pointed the Gunblade to the sky, light energy swirling all around himself and his blade.

"Now, taste the true power of my Blasting Zone!" he roared. A column of light shined down upon him. Yuffie's eyes went wide.

"Oh crap!" she yelped, bouncing on the roof. "He's using it! He's using it!"

"Sora, quickly! Shield us!" Kairi cried. Sora was already one step ahead of her.

"Magnet!" Sora yelled, raising the Keyblade in the air. A moment later, gravity pulled all the warriors to him. "Reflect!" A barrier was then formed all around them, protecting them from Leon's next attack.

The barrier came not a moment too soon. An instant later, Leon brought the Gunblade down. Light energy consumed the entire Marketplace, completely obliterating every Heartless in the area. The energy continued to pound on Sora's barrier, which was slowly fading. "This thing's not gonna hold much longer!" Sora shouted. "I need a little help!"

"Reflect!" Riku and King Mickey bellowed together. Soon, the barrier was fortified.

"What kind of attack is this?" Sora yelled, shielding his eyes from the bright light.

"One of Squall's strongest attacks," Yuffie explained. "It's what helped us escape to Traverse Town, but I haven't seen him use that attack in a long time."

"Yuffie, he still wants to be called Leon," Aerith corrected. "And he hasn't used any of his special attacks since he lost her."

Leon stood motionless, blood continuing to pour down his face. "Leon, come back here so we can tend to your wounds," Tifa called out. Leon didn't budge.

"I still sense a Dark presence," he replied. "I'll have my wounds checked after it's gone."

"Well spoken, Squall Leonhart," a sinister female voice boomed. "You're a true protector of the Light." Everyone jumped, looking for the source of the evil voice.

"Where are you?!" Leon bellowed, a blade of light forming around the Gunblade. "Show yourself!"

"You're much stronger than when you fought to protect this place so many years ago," the voice continued, disregarding Leon's last statements. A dark cloud appeared above the Marketplace, casting a shadow over the entire area. "I'm almost glad Maleficent failed to kill you all. I've haven't had any game in quite a while."

A dark figure lowered herself from the cloud, although she continued to hover in the air. As they realized who it was, the warriors native to the Radiant Garden gasped in horror. Tifa clenched her fists, tears began to run down Aerith's cheeks, Yuffie dropped to her knees, and Squall nearly dropped his Gunblade.

"Ultimecia," he said softly, identifying who was behind all the attacks.

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Where the heck is Cloud? What the heck is an FF villain doing in here?

Hurray, update! Read and Review Please.


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